CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT  

 

The Kingswood Residents’ Association (KRA) is a non-political voluntary organisation whose stated objectives are:

 

  “…the promotion of the welfare of the Community through the good government of the district in relation to planning, environment, safety and conservation, so as to preserve and improve the amenities of the village of Kingswood”.

 

The KRA should not be confused with the Kingswood Village Community Association (KVCA) and individual road Frontagers Associations which do other important work and complement the work of the KRA.

 

The KRA works closely with Reigate and Banstead Borough Council (RBBC) through our local Councillors to consult and influence good planning practices.  The KRA also works with our County Councillor on Surrey County Council matters. The support of our local Councillors is invaluable and is key to the work of the Association.

 

The KRA works for this community as a whole and all Kingswood Residents are welcome to come to our Annual General Meeting and join our discussions.  If you aren’t already a member then you are still most welcome to attend and we hope that you might consider joining the Association to give us your support.

 

This year, in my report, I’d like to draw attention to three related issues – the nature of development in our area, the state of our roads & verges, and what it means to be a community.

 

John Lang, in his planning report later in this newsletter, says that the recession appears to have had little influence on the number of planning applications being made.  There are applications for ever larger houses, inevitably secured by electric gates and reaching higher and nearer to the edges of plots - totally out of character with the existing Arcadian (spacious and tree dominated) surroundings.  Use the timeline feature of Google Earth and you will see how trees have been felled – often illegally – to create room for these properties which set new precedents for the area.

 

New building work has taken a huge toll on our roads, and once-neat verges are often dented and damaged by careless driving and parking.  Once the verge is untidy the odd beer bottle cast aside by one of our youngsters doesn’t look amiss and so things continue to degenerate.  Considerate contractors help a lot, but it’s all too easy to feel a victim and retreat behind our doors.  The Council is encouraging all in the borough to “Love where you live” – and is, this April, making available bags, gloves, litter pickers and tools for communities to spring clean their area.  If you’d like to borrow these tools for your road, then please call Terry Boardman at the Council (01737 276407) who can also arrange for disposal of the rubbish collected.  This is a great opportunity for neighbours and frontagers to work to “seize the day”, reclaiming this beautiful area and once again taking pride in where we live.

 

Finally, the recent difficult winter weather has brought challenges to us all.  The County Council and Borough Council had to prioritise roads for gritting, and rubbish collections and other services were disrupted as a result.  The KRA is looking at how we can work with frontagers to improve coordination on winter preparation and information flows next year.  However, on a very positive note, it’s worth saying that the weather also brought out the very best in our community with neighbours helping each other out in a wide range of ways – collecting groceries for the elderly, and working in teams to clear snow from roads and drives etc.  Ultimately, it is this spirit of togetherness and care for our neighbour that will keep Kingswood alive and special.

 

Around 50% of residents are members of the KRA.  It only costs £5 per year, but by giving your practical and moral support you help us through our own work and through the work of the Banstead and District Federation of Residents Associations – to continue to work to keep Kingswood a special place to live.  However, we need more than money and moral support, we also need people to give relatively small amounts of time, to join us on the committee and to give active support in our work.  Right now, we need someone to be the KRA’s secretary and someone to help us with publicity. We also need people who can help to bring a KRA presence to your road - we need people who simply care about this community.  If you think that you might be able to help in any way, then please do get in contact.

 

Simon Parnall (01737 830888), simon.parnall@btinternet.com

 

For the 2009 Chairman’s report.....click here